Saturday 28 February 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Ukrainian photojournalist killed in shelling in restive east

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ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine: (AP) - A Ukrainian photojournalist was killed in shelling in eastern Ukraine on Saturday as the cease-fire deal brokered by Western leaders seems to fail to silence the guns completely.Fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops has killed more than 5,600 people, displaced more than 1 million others and left the countrys industrial heartland in ruins.Despite the cease-fire declared earlier this month, fighting regularly erupts across the region.Serhiy Nikolayev, a staff photographer for the Segodnya newspaper, was killed Saturday in the village of Pisky on the Ukrainian side of the front, according to Kateryna Perepelitsa, an editor at the paper.Perepelitsa told The Associated Press that Nikolayev was injured in an artillery strike, was taken to the hospital in Krasnoarmiysk, about 45 kilometers (30 miles) west, and died of his wounds on arrival.Nikolayev, who was based in the capital, Kiev, is the seventh journalist to have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the conflict began in April.The newspapers editor insisted, however, that Nikolayev wasnt there on assignment, but refused to elaborate. Few Ukrainian media officially send their staffers to the east on assignment, with many going to the region on their own to operate as freelancers for their employers or other media.Pisky is just north of the airport in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. Artillery strikes in the area have been reported in recent days although they have subsided since the airport fell to the rebels in late January.The situation across the region otherwise appeared calm. The city hall in Donetsk reported no fighting on Saturday or on Friday, while sporadic shelling was heard in the background in the town of Popasna on Saturday afternoon.

Lithuania signs US deal to replace Russian gas

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VILNIUS (AFP) - Lithuania said Saturday it had signed a trade agreement to buy liquified natural gas from the United States in a move aimed at reducing the EU Baltic states heavy dependence on Russian gas deliveries.Under the deal with Houston-based Chenier Energy company, the first LNG fuel is expected to arrive in Lithuania as early as next year, state-owned company Litgas said in a statement.This agreement entered into with Cheniere ... will provide us access to the prolific US natural gas market, Litgas General Manager Dominykas Tuckus said.Lithuanias first floating LNG terminal started commercial activity in January, becoming the first such facility to sever Moscows grip on gas deliveries to the Baltic states.The nation of three million will initially import 0.54 billion cubic metres of gas from Statoil in 2015, covering about one-fifth of its demand.The first US LNG export terminal is expected to starts its operations later this year.The Baltic states reliance on Russia for gas is a legacy of its five decades of Soviet rule, which ended in 1991.Members of the EU and NATO since 20014, Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia are concerned about Russias actions in Ukraine and fear that Moscow could attempt to destabilise its Soviet-era Baltic backyard.LNG exports by the US may weaken the position of Russia which uses its energy resources as an energy weapon to blackmail countries dependent on Russian gas, Lithuanias Energy Minister Rokas Masiulis said this week.

Businessman charged with defrauding billionaire AS Monaco owner

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MONACO (AFP) - A prominent Swiss businessman was on Saturday charged in connection with an alleged art fraud targeting Russian oligarch and football club owner Dmitry Rybolovlev.Yves Bouvier, who faces charges of fraud and money laundering, is suspected of having sold Rybolovlev dozens of paintings by Picasso, Modigliani, Gauguin and other masters for inflated prices with the help of false documents.Prosecutors have not revealed the amount of the alleged fraud.A Russian-speaking Swiss woman living in Monaco was also charged with money laundering.Both were granted bail after being taken into custody for questioning in the case.Bouvier is the head of Natural Le Coultre, a family business that stores, packs and ships works of art and other valuables.Rybolovlev moved to Monaco in 2011, where he bought a controlling stake in AS Monaco -- a prestigious football club that had then been relegated to the second division, and which he whipped back into shape.He is considered the worlds 160th wealthiest person according to Forbes, with a fortune estimated at $8.5 billion (7.6 billion euros).According to a source close to the case, Bouvier created false documents when arranging the sale of art works to the Rybolovlev family that bumped up the actual price asked by the sellers. The businessman, who was paid a commission for serving as middleman, allegedly kept the difference without the family knowing.The alleged accomplice, a friend of the Rybolovlev family, is suspected of being secretly paid by Bouvier once the sales were complete.Rybolovlev made headlines last year when a Swiss court awarded his ex-wife the equivalent of half of his fortune in their divorce.The Russian oligarch has an estate in the southern French resort of Saint Tropez, owns the Greek island of Skorpios, which he bought from the Onassis dynasty, a villa in Miami that previously belonged to business magnate Donald Trump, and one in Hawaii that was purchased from Hollywood star Will Smith

Substitute Crouch scores winner for Stoke vs Hull

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HULL, England: (AP) - Peter Crouch scored the winner a minute after coming off the bench as Stoke defeated Hull 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.Crouch made an instant impact at the Britannia Stadium after being thrown on with 20 minutes to go.The striker rose in the box to meet a delivery from fellow substitute Charlie Adam and send a header over Allan McGregor into the net for his ninth goal of the season and fourth in four appearances in all competitions.Adam following his introduction at halftime went close to breaking the deadlock in the 58th minute with a free kick that whistled narrowly wide.Its the sixth win in 11 league games for 10th-placed Stoke, while Hulls recent unbeaten run has been halted at three games.

Football: Rooney fires Man United after Brown goes red

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MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United beat Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday in a game notable for referee Roger Easts error in sending off the wrong visiting player.Sunderland kept the hosts at bay until the 64th minute, when East correctly adjudged that Radamel Falcao had been brought down in the area by former United defender John OShea.But the referee inexplicably decided that fellow centre-back Wes Brown had made the telling foul and showed him a straight red card before Rooney clinically converted the penalty low into the bottom-left corner.The England forwards second goal came six minutes from time when a shot by substitute Adnan Januzaj was parried by Costel Pantilimon and Rooney stooped to head in, unopposed, from six yards.Victory sent United up to third place in the Premier League table, two points above Arsenal, having played a game more.Rooneys goals, his 10th and 11th of the season, were particularly welcome given another sub-par performance by Louis van Gaals side, and particularly record signing Angel di Maria.The first half was one of frustration for United and their supporters, seeking to bounce back after defeat at Swansea City last weekend, with the hosts perhaps able to count themselves lucky not to have fallen behind.Just six minutes had gone when Di Maria was dispossessed by Patrick van Aanholt, whose pass allowed Connor Wickham to advance from just inside the United half.He reached the edge of the area before shooting and his low shot was well saved by United goalkeeper David de Gea.Moments later, Rooney was caught in possession by Lee Cattermole, leading to an 18-yard Jermain Defoe shot that flew just over.In similar fashion, Falcao lost the ball to Brown to set another Sunderland counter-attack in motion, this time ending in a Defoe shot that De Gea saved comfortably.It was an uninspiring start from United, although Rooney threatened early, heading wide from eight yards at a Di Maria corner, and OShea might have been punished after tangling in the area with Falcao.By the mid-point of the first half, a badly aimed Ashley Young corner ended with United passing the ball all the way back to their own goalkeeper, causing consternation and jeers among their supporters.But United began to threaten, with Young controlling an Antonio Valencia cross on his chest and turning a powerful shot towards goal that was deflected onto the crossbar by OShea.Rooney also had a free-kick punched over by Pantilimon and Marcos Rojo saw a scrambled attempt blocked near the line by Sebastian Larsson.Di Maria had endured a miserable first half and it was no surprise that Van Gaal opted to replace him at the interval, with young winger Januzaj thrown on in an attempt to enliven proceedings.Soon after the restart, Chris Smallings driven cross was headed back by Falcao for Rojo, whose shot flashed just over and Januzaj was on hand, after Anthony Reveillere headed clear, to drive an effort high.The penalty and red card drama naturally reduced Sunderlands ambition and hopes of taking anything home with them from their visit to Old Trafford.Januzaj, in particular, seemed eager to take advantage of their fatigue and after twice forcing Pantilimon into action, he let fly with the shot that yielded Rooneys second goal.

8 convicted over Harry Winston jewel heists in Paris

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PARIS: (AP) - Eight people have been convicted in connection with a spectacular 2008 holdup at a Harry Winston jewelry shop in Paris, in which three cross-dressing gunmen stole about $92 million in loot, a defense lawyer said Saturday.Lawyer Philippe Stepniewski said sentences ranged from nine months to 15 years in prison with the heaviest penalty handed to Douadi Yahiaoui, a 50-year-old repeat offender and alleged ringleader of the heist.In the robbery, the gunmen wore silky wigs, skirts, stockings and high heels, and took less than 20 minutes to steal hundreds of jewelry pieces and watches.The eight were convicted late Friday on charges including armed robbery in an organized gang, criminal association, and receiving stolen goods in the 2008 heist, and another a year earlier at the same store. In that one, thieves dressed as building painters slipped in through the stores service entrance. All told, authorities estimated the two heists netted over 100 million euros ($113 million) in luxury watches, necklaces, earrings and other valuables.Stepniewskis client, Mouloud Djennad, was a security guard at the Harry Winston store and an inside accomplice who tipped off the thieves to the amount of the bounty inside, according to court documents. Djennad received a two-year prison sentence, and was one of two defendants in the case to be released for time served, the lawyer said.Many of the jewels havent been found. Some turned up after police detained 25 people in a 2009 sweep. Two years later, 19 rings and three sets of earrings worth some 18 million euros ($20 million) were dug out from a Paris-area rain sewer near Yahiaouis house hidden in a plastic container set in a cement mold.Over the years, France has faced a number of brazen jewelry robberies, including three in the southern resort town of Cannes in 2013. In one of those, a lone gunman sneaked into a posh hotel, held up a diamond show, and made off with a breathtaking $136 million worth of valuables in about one minute.

Afghan president pledges relief fund for avalanche victims

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KABUL (AFP) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Saturday pledged to set up a relief fund for the victims of avalanches that claimed over 280 lives, and called for international help with the relief effort.Avalanches killed at least 286 people across Afghanistan last week, the bulk of the them in the mountainous province of Panjshir, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Kabul.Some 1,250 homes were also destroyed by the huge sheets of snow, which engulfed whole villages as they swept down from the Afghan peaks after days of heavy blizzards.The losses caused by this natural disaster are huge and there is a need for massive assistance, Ghani said in a televised address.On Saturday, the president announced three days of national mourning after visiting worst-hit Panjshir province, where at least 195 people lost their lives.He also postponed a planned trip to neighbouring Iran to try to help with relief efforts.Neighbouring Pakistan on Saturday sent two plane-loads of emergency relief goods for victims of the disaster.I have ordered the relevant authorities to set up a new relief fund, so that the people and the national entrepreneurs can donate to the affected people, said Ghani.We also open a relief fund for international assistance. The damages and losses caused are so huge that dealing with it is not something the government can afford on its own, he said.The blizzards have also cut power supplies to Kabul and neighbouring provinces after heavy snowfall damaged cables running through the Salang Pass, part of the Hindu Kush mountain range that connects the capital to the north.Afghan authorities said it will take them at least three weeks to restore normal power to the capital.Deadly avalanches are common in Afghanistans mountainous areas in winter. One in the remote far northeast in 2012 left 145 people missing, presumed dead.Despite the billions of dollars in aid from the international community after the collapse of the Taliban in 2001, Afghanistan remains among the worlds poorest nations after decades of conflict.Rescue efforts after disasters such as avalanches and flash floods, which often hit as snow melt in the spring, are frequently hampered by lack of equipment.Poor infrastructure makes it difficult for rescue teams to reach isolated areas.

Maldives opposition resolves to continue protests

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: (AP) - An opposition lawmaker in the Maldives says her party has resolved to continue protests in the streets and in parliament until the government frees a former president and current opposition leader from police detention.Eva Abdulla says her Maldivian Democratic Party and another ally decided Saturday that Mohamed Nasheed, the Indian Ocean archipelago nations first democratically elected president, must be released immediately.Nasheed was arrested this past week for his alleged role in the 2012 arrest of a senior judge while he was president. The prosecution has accused him of kidnapping Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in 2012 and has charged him under the countrys anti-terrorism law.Thousands of opposition supporters paraded in the streets of the capital, Male, on Friday demanding Nasheeds release.

Greek PM vows no retreat in battle with creditors

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ATHENS (AFP) - Greeces premier on Saturday vowed no surrender in his battle with the countrys creditors and accused other eurozone stragglers of trying to undermine its negotiations with Brussels.The battle will continue, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the central committee of his hard-left Syriza party. Anybody thinking that we are going to go away will be disappointed.Tsipras said that in the talks that landed Greece a four-month extension to its bailout on Tuesday, the pressure from certain other European countries had the character of blackmail.Conservative forces (in Europe) tried to set a trap for us, to drive us into financial asphyxia, the 40-year-old said.But Athens would not retreat from the difficulties or from our own principles, he vowed.According to Tsipras, Greece came up against an axis of powers led by Spain and Portugal who tried to scupper the negotiations to avoid internal political risks.His remarks were seen as a reference to the rise of anti-austerity parties in Spain and Portugal, who have been buoyed by Syrizas arrival to power.In Spain, which did not receive a full bailout but whose banks got emergency support in 2012, Podemos, a close Syriza ally, is leading polls ahead of general elections expected later this year.Syriza won January elections on a promise to ease the hardship caused by past government spending cuts imposed in return for two bailouts in 2010 and 2012.Tsipras reiterated Friday that once the current bailout expires on June 30 there would be no third memorandum as the previous agreements tying aid to spending cuts are known.Is it unclear, however, whether Tsipras can avoid another rescue package.His government of social salvation faces a major challenge in keeping both voters and Greeces international creditors happy by providing relief for the poor while also keeping government spending in check.Thursday saw the first protests in Athens since the bailout extension, with several hundred anti-capitalists and anarchists taking to the streets, some smashing shop windows and setting fire to rubbish bins.Greece, whose two bailouts are worth 240 billion euros ($270 billion) must also repay billions of euros in debt maturing in the coming months.Tsipras has said he wants to renegotiate the countrys 320-billion-euro debt pile, despite fierce opposition, particularly in Germany, to any new debt haircut.Meanwhile, Greeces nascent recovery from six straight years of recession also looks in trouble, with official data on Friday showing a contraction of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter.Initial estimates had forecast a 0.2 percent drop in gross domestic product.After winning four months of breathing space from its creditors, the government now has until the end of April to provide them with more details of its reform programme in order to receive the final bailout tranche.A list of reforms submitted by Athens this week, which focused on tackling tax evasion and excessive bureaucracy, was described by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as just a starting point.Germanys parliament approved the bailout extension Friday, despite a minor rebellion by members of Merkels party, surveys suggesting German voter unease and the countrys Bild daily saying greedy Greece should get no more money.On Saturday, Yanis Varoufakis, Greeces maverick new finance minister, promised no pity in tackling tax evasion and said that the government might impose a one-off levy on the rich to help fill government coffers.What interests us is those who have money but who have never paid (tax). They are our target and we will show no pity, Varoufakis told the TV channel Skai.Tsipras said Friday the government would table legislation early next week aimed at alleviating poverty and putting the country of 11 million on a more equitable road to recovery.His plans include free electricity for 300,000 poor families, housing for 30,000 people and measures to protect people at risk of losing their homes.

US envoy in Syria to seek Aleppo truce

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DAMASCUS (AFP) - A UN envoy arrived in the Syrian capital Saturday for talks with the regime to try to finalise a deal to freeze fighting in the war-ravaged second city of Aleppo.Staffan de Mistura visited Damascus as the army and pro-regime fighters regained territory in southern Syria from forces opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.De Mistura hopes to set in motion as soon as possible his project to halt fighting in Aleppo for six weeks, said a member of his delegation who spoke on condition of anonymity.The envoy has met government officials and opposition chiefs in recent weeks to promote his plan for a temporary truce in Aleppo in order to move aid into the northern city.Once Syrias commercial hub, Aleppo has been devastated by fighting that began in mid-2012, and the city is now split between loyalist forces and rebels.Last week De Mistura said the government had shown a willingness to suspend aerial bombardment of Aleppo for six weeks to allow a humanitarian ceasefire.Under the plan, rebels would be asked to suspend rocket and mortar fire there during the freeze.De Mistura incurred the wrath of the opposition earlier in February by describing Assad as part of the solution to the conflict.About 220,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests that spiralled into a multi-sided civil war drawing foreign jihadists.In Daraa province southwest of Damascus, regime troops backed by Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Iranian advisers and Iraqi militiamen gained territory from opposition rebels and Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday.The pro-regime forces took control of three villages and several hills in Daraa in clashes that left seven rebels dead, the Britain-based monitor said.Hezbollah and regime forces launched an operation earlier this month to try to reverse sweeping gains in the south made by anti-Assad rebels and Al-Qaedas Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front.The strategically important region is near Damascus, the border with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.The Observatory estimates that 5,000 Hezbollah fighters are deployed in Syria.Iran has also acknowledged sending military advisers and high-ranking officers from the elite Revolutionary Guard to help its ally Assad.In northern Syria meanwhile, dozens of people were killed in fierce fighting that broke out on Friday between Al-Nusra Front and US-backed rebels for a strategic northern military base.At least 29 fighters from the Western-armed Hazm movement died along with six Al-Nusra Front jihadists, according to the Observatory.Al-Nusra captured Base 46, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.Base 46 is a sprawling military compound that rebels seized in November 2012 from troops loyal to Assad.The Observatory also reported that a court of the Islamic State group near Tal Tamr in Hasakeh province had ordered the release of 28 Assyrian Christians out of a group of at least 220 abducted by the jihadists this week.De Misturas visit to Damascus coincides with a meeting of the main opposition National Coalition in the Turkish border town of Kilis to discuss the Aleppo freeze plan, an alliance spokesman said.Those at the meeting -- including coalition chief Khaled Khoja, opposition figures and representatives of Aleppos civil society -- would declare a position on De Misturas proposal.It would run into Sunday and conclude with an announcement on the creation of a follow-up committee that will make contact with De Mistura about his project, said the spokesman.When he revealed his plan this month, De Mistura said he had asked the Syrian government to allow a UN team into Aleppo to identify a district for a trial ceasefire.Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad told Al-Watan newspaper that the envoy suggested the trial begin simultaneously in the Salaheddin and Saif al-Dawla neighbourhoods.The two battleground districts in southwestern Aleppo are divided between loyalist forces and rebels.French parliamentarians who met Assad on Wednesday have said the embattled leader expressed support for the plan which De Mistura has been mulling since his appointment in July.

Reichelt leads Austrian World Cup downhill sweep

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GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany: (AP) - Hannes Reichelt led an Austrian sweep of a shortened downhill race on the Kandahar slope for his 10th career World Cup victory on Saturday.Reichelt, the super-G world champion, had been quickest in both training sessions and he completed the course in 1 minute, 11.90 seconds, edging Romed Baumann by one hundredth of a second and Matthias Mayer by 0.24 seconds.Its wonderful, also to tick off the Kandahar, said Reichelt, who claimed silver in the super-G at the 2011 Worlds in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Id have liked if it had been the longer course because the Kandahar offers everything - difficult turns and long straights.The challenging course was shortened to the super-G starting point after several delays due to persistent fog.Mayer had been bidding for three straight victories after winning both the downhill and super-G at Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, last weekend but the Olympic downhill champion had to skip Fridays training session due to a cold.I had man flu - it lasted three days. So I was actually quite happy that the course was shortened, Mayer said.Italys Silvano Varettoni and Dominik Paris were fourth and fifth, respectively.Downhill leader Kjetil Jansrud missed the opportunity to pressure overall leader Marcel Hirscher after finishing a disappointing three-quarters of a second off the pace in joint-19th.For us its better to race than call it off and thats why we have to accept the shorter course, said Jansrud, who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head with disappointment.I had a good start but then made a couple of minor mistakes, which isnt ideal. Of course Im annoyed because were talking about the overall World Cup, the Norwegian said.Technical specialist Hirscher, who is attempting to become the first man to win four consecutive overall titles, does not race downhill, and the Austrian holds a commanding 104-point lead over Jansrud ahead of Sundays giant slalom.The three of us stole a few points from Kjetil with our triple success, said Baumann, referring to the Austrian dominance. Now we have to work out with Marcel what our reward is and see what springs out of it for us.With two downhills remaining, Reichelt narrowed the gap on Jansrud in the discipline standings to 84 points, while Paris is 112 behind.Marco Sullivan was the highest-placed American, 0.39 behind in sixth, ahead of Austrians Vincent Riechmayr and Georg Streitberger, while fellow U.S. skiers Steven Nyman, Travis Ganong and Andrew Weibrecht were 17th, 22nd and 33rd, respectively.Downhill world champion Patrick Kueng of Switzerland finished 12th.It seemed nobody but the cold-afflicted Mayer was happy there was less distance to ski.Unfortunately the cool part of the course was cut out through the shortening - thats where you have to risk everything, said Austrias Max Franz, who was 10th. Its a pity because the course is really in a great condition.

Dress that 'greatly resembles' stolen Nyong'o gown recovered

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LOS ANGELES: (AP) - A white dress that strongly resembles the custom gown taken from Lupita Nyongos hotel room earlier this week turned up Friday under a bathroom sink in the same hotel, a Los Angeles County Sheriffs official said.The dress found at a West Hollywood hotel greatly resembles the pearl-adorned Calvin Klein Collection by Francisco Costa dress the actress wore to Sundays Academy Awards, sheriffs spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said.Detectives were trying to verify whether the recovered dress is the same one Nyongo wore, she said.One of the actress representatives reported the dress was stolen from her room at the London Hotel late Wednesday.Authorities placed its value at $150,000, although experts say it could have fetched more on the black market.In a statement to Womens Wear Daily, Costa said everyone at Calvin Klein was thrilled to learn that the dress may have been found.Once its returned to us, we will be able to have the dress restored and archived, as it now represents an important moment for the brand, Costa said in his statement.The recovery of the dress was first reported by TMZ.com, which said that a person claiming to have taken the gown gave the celebrity website information about where to find the dress.Detectives found it in a black garment bag stashed underneath the bathroom counter.Nyongo won an Oscar in 2014 for her role in Twelve Years a Slave and was a presenter at Sundays ceremony.Im happy that it has been potentially recovered, Nyongo said in the statement to Womens Wear Daily. Its a timeless and priceless piece of art.The 31-year-old actress has become a darling of Hollywoods red carpets in the past two years, with commenters and fans praising her fashion choices. She accessorized the dress with Chopard diamond earrings and diamond rings.There are a lot of collectors out there who are very private and have private collections of stolen merchandise, said style expert and fashion commentator Mary Alice Stephenson. Some of these dresses have global fame as big as any Van Gogh.

Isolated skimishes hamper Ukraine truce

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KIEV (AFP) - Ukraine announced the completion of an initial phase of military pullback in east Ukraine Saturday as isolated clashes rattled a shaky truce with pro-Russian rebels and observers warned the country was at a crossroads.Ukraine said Saturday that isolated clashes were rattling a shaky truce with pro-Russian rebels after international monitors warned that the conflict in the country stands at a crossroads.Kiev military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said that fighting had halted along most of the frontline but rebels were attacking government positions around Donetsk airport, one of the most fiercely contested locations in the conflict.No soldiers were reported killed over the past 24 hours, after Kiev said Friday that three servicemen had died after several days without a fatality.The two warring sides both said that they were continuing the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front -- a key next step in a stuttering European-brokered peace plan to end fighting that has cost at least 5,800 lives since April.Ukraines military told AFP that it had completed the first stage of the withdrawal by pulling back its 100-mm cannons and was waiting for the order to start moving bigger calibre weapons.Rebels claim they have already shifted the bulk of their heavy arms.But while monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have reported weapons movements on most sides they say it is too early to confirm a full pull-back.As the fragile peace deal seemed to gain traction, the OSCEs envoy to Ukraine told the UN Security Council on Friday that while there were encouraging signs, the country still risked all-out war.We seem to be at the crossroads, where we are facing the risk of a further escalation of the conflict or where common sense, responsibility, and humanity shall prevail and we may be able to walk on the road to peace, envoy Heidi Tagliavini told the 15-member council.The Security Councils meeting on the conflict came a year to the day after Russian and pro-Moscow forces began occupying strategic sites on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.Russia formally annexed the territory in March 2014, triggering an international furore. The uprising in Ukraines east began the following month.The UN said Friday there was a crisis in rebel-held areas, where people were living in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.We really do have a humanitarian crisis in the separatist-held areas, UN aid coordinator in Ukraine Neal Walker said in Brussels.Weve been really hoping that the ceasefire will hold over time and that that will enable us to respond more rapidly to those critical humanitarian needs, said Walker, as the UN this week launched an appeal for $316 million in humanitarian aid.The UN estimates 4.7 million people in or near the combat zones need help while another 300,000 people have fled to other parts of the country and a million abroad.Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko cautioned Friday that the withdrawal of heavy weapons was just a first, test step.At any moment our soldiers are ready to return our weapons to their previous positions and rebuff the enemy, he told a group of soldiers.Kiev accuses Russia of continuing to pile in weapons and men to bolster the rebels and Poroshenko warned that even if the peace held, Russia would continue to threaten Ukraine.Even if there is a lengthy truce that leads to a political solution and long-term peace, the military threat from the east will unfortunately remain.Russias annexation of Crimea sparked the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.The West is hoping the UN-backed truce deal negotiated by Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in Minsk earlier this month can prevent a further escalation.The United States and European Union have warned Russia -- which has been hit by successive rounds of sanctions over Ukraine -- could face fresh economic punishment if the peace process unravels.Moscow has itself ratcheted up the pressure by warning it could cut off gas supplies to Ukraine -- and, by extension, to parts of the EU.Moscow last year cut off gas deliveries to Ukraine before turning the taps back on in December after making cash-strapped Kiev pay in advance for its supplies.

UK's first 'anti-Islamisation' rally dwarfed by counter-demo

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NEWCASTLE, United Kingdom (AFP) - An estimated 375 people turned out for the Germany-based PEGIDA movements first demonstration in Britain on Saturday, but were outnumbered by a 2,000-strong crowd of counter-protesters, police said.PEGIDA has drawn large crowds in Germany to protest against what it calls the Islamisation of Europe, and small demonstrations have also taken place in Austria and Sweden.Police in the city of Newcastle, northeast England, said five men were arrested during the days events but insisted these were isolated incidents, and said both the PEGIDA march and the Newcastle Unites protest passed off smoothly.It was not clear from which sides the five arrested men came from. Their alleged offences included assault, being drunk and disorderly, and breach of the peace.Extra police had been deployed in the city, which was also hosting a Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa, and had kept the two sides apart.One steward said there was a brief scuffle involving members of far-right groups which temporarily damaged PEGIDAs PA system, but no wider disturbances.Both demonstrations passed without any problems, Police Chief Superintendent Laura Young said.PEGIDAs spokeswoman in Britain, Marion Rogers, earlier insisted that the group was not racist or against Muslims.Its about integration. We are not anti-Islam. We are not here to split up any communities, she told the BBC.Weve invited Muslims to join us against extremism, extremism of any kind. I dont think its wrong to stand up to terrorism. Is that hate?PEGIDA -- which stands for the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West -- drew up to 25,000 people in German street rallies last month.Among those attending the counter-rally in Newcastle was left-wing firebrand lawmaker George Galloway.It is absolutely extraordinary that a German organisation sets up in the UK -- its not as if there is a lack of right-wing nutter organisations here, he said beforehand.They have got to be opposed, wherever they are.The English Defence League, a homegrown British group that protested against the perceived threat from Islamic extremism, held a number of protests throughout 2013, which often ended in clashes with anti-fascist demonstrators.But the group has lost momentum since its leader Tommy Robinson quit in October that year, saying he could no longer keep extremist elements in the group at bay.

FIFA wary on video tech, calling it 'biggest decision ever'

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HOLYROOD, Northern Ireland: (AP) - There is no prospect of referees being allowed to defer to video replays soon, with soccers rule-makers saying more information on the technology is required before in-game trials can go ahead.Although the International Football Association Board took the groundbreaking decision in 2012 to allow high-tech aids to rule on disputed goals, the FIFA panel wont rush into expanding the use of technology.The Dutch federation has been testing technology where officials watching on television could feed live information to referees but there now wont be official trials.FIFA is cautious about allowing technology to help to decide on such decisions as red cards and penalties.Its a question of making the biggest decision ever in the way football is played, FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke said.It needs a lot of discussion, in terms of what we are looking at. We talked about the fact if the referee relies on information he is getting (from the video referee), is there a risk that the referees become not as strong as they are today because they will always ask for confirmation of any decision in the course of the game?The English Football Association, which holds one of the eight IFAB votes, has been pushing for greater use of technology. After years of lobbying for goal-line technology, the FA gained FIFA approval following a glaring error at the 2010 World Cup when Englands Frank Lampard was denied a clear goal.Instead of waiting until you get a Frank Lampard to change the rules, as with goal-line technology, we should go on the front foot, Dyke said, advocating trials.I think were going to look back in 20 years time and say, Wasnt it quaint that we didnt use video technology when it was available.But IFAB did agree in principle to relax the so-called triple punishment rule where a player can make a challenge that results in a penalty kick, a red card and suspension. Now FIFAs disciplinary and legal committees will look at the feasibility of removing the automatic one-match ban in these cases.IFAB did agree that this punishment is too harsh and that we must find a solution to the matter, said Patrick Nelson, chief executive of the Irish FA, which was hosting the meeting.A proposal to allow an additional fourth substitute in extra time was not approved, but will be looked at in further depth by IFABs advisory panels.IFAB includes delegates from the four British football associations and FIFA. Since last year, it takes advice from panels of technical and football experts selected from across the world.
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Friday 27 February 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Formula One: Rosberg fastest as Mercedes show their speed

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BARCELONA (AFP) - Mercedes showed off their speedy new W06 on Friday as Nico Rosberg blew away the rest of the field on the second day of the final pre-season test in Barcelona.Using the faster soft tyres for the first time this season, Rosberg produced the fastest time through six days of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in 1min 22.792sec.The Germans time was more than seven tenths of a second quicker than the previous best time set by Williams Felipe Massa on Thursday.We are confident that we have a good car because we have a great team at the moment, but at the same time we are well aware that some of the others have been posting quick times, said Rosberg.However, last seasons runner-up in the world championship wasnt completely happy with his days work despite the fast time in the afternoon session.We need to keep our heads down and keep working. Today was a difficult day because even though all the numbers looked like they were in the right place on the setup, actually the car was very far away from where it needed to be and we didnt really understand that, so the whole day we were chasing the setup and trying to find the right direction.Eventually in the end it was feeling more and more decent, and putting the soft tyres on gives the grip anyway so with the soft tyres it doesnt really matter what the balance is.Williams remained the closest challengers for the world champions as Valtteri Bottas was second fastest, albeit over a second back on Rosberg.Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr completed another good day for Sauber as he went third quickest in a marathon 140-lap day.There was even some encouragement for the under fire McLaren-Honda partnership as Jenson Button managed 101 laps before bringing his session to an early end when he broke down with just 15 minutes of the day left to run.That tally equated to nearly half of the Woking-based teams testing mileage before Friday in a pre-season dogged by reliability issues and a crash suffered by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in last weekends second test.Good progress made today. It wasnt hard from yesterday, but really nice to do 101 laps, said Button.Reliability has been great today, really big step forward by everyone and big effort by everyone which is great to see.For most teams 100 laps isnt really anything, but for us it is like a 1000 laps because there is so much for us still to learn about this package.Meanwhile, Force India finally unveiled their VJM08 car for the upcoming season and also had a positive day as Nico Hulkenberg managed 76 laps.It was a very good day, at least in terms of the running we managed to do. We were able to run reliably straight out of the box and that is very encouraging, said Hulkenberg.Obviously we still have a big task ahead of us and we are playing catch-up in certain aspects, but I am quite satisfied so far.

Russian opposition leader Nemtsov shot dead: official

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MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, a fierce critic of President Vladmir Putin, was shot dead in central Moscow late Friday ahead of a major opposition rally this weekend, investigators and police said.In central Moscow, a man with documents in the name of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov was killed, an interior ministry spokesman told AFP early Saturday, declining to give further details.Russias Investigative Committee confirmed the death, saying it had opened a criminal probe.According to preliminary information, an unidentified person shot at Boris Nemtsov no fewer than 7-8 times from a car as he was walking along the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge, investigators said in a statement.The committee, which reports directly to Putin, said that experienced investigators had been put on the case.Nemtsov launched his political career as the governor of Nizhny Novgorod region in central Russia and became a vice prime minister in the late 1990s under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin.After leaving parliament in 2003, he helped establish and led several opposition parties and groups.Nemtovs murder comes ahead of a major opposition rally scheduled to take place on March 1.The murder bears the hallmarks of a contract killing, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.Another interior ministry spokesperson, Yelena Alekseyeva, told reporters at the scene that Nemtsov was walking with a woman when he was shot.The woman, who is from Ukraine, was now being questioned, she added.Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has taken charge of the criminal probe, she said.Mikhail Kasyanov, a former prime minister turned opposition leader, told reporters after viewing the scene: This is payback for the fact that Boris consistently for many, many years fought for Russia to be a free democratic country.

US sets out 'bottom lines' for Iran nuclear deal

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Friday set out what it called its bottom lines to reach a deal with Iran to rein in its nuclear program, ahead of new talks next week.Washington had stuck to its guns that it wanted a good deal and had agreed to several extensions of the negotiations because we have held firm to certain bottom lines, a senior US administration official said.We will only accept an agreement that cuts off the different pathways to the fissile material that Iran needs for a nuclear weapon, the official stressed.US Secretary of State John Kerry will leave at the weekend for Switzerland, where he will meet once again with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.The pace and intensity of the talks have sped up as global powers gathered under the P51 group have been seeking a deal with Iran to stop it acquiring a nuclear weapon -- something Tehran denies trying to do.A March 31 deadline for a political framework for the deal is looming with negotiators saying they will aim to pin down the final technical details by June 30.While US officials cautioned that there were no guarantees a deal would be reached, they said the negotiations have advanced substantially, gaps have narrowed.Staking out the broad outlines of a deal -- without going into specifics -- the US official spelt out where Washington was standing firm:-- Iran should not be allowed to develop weapons-grade plutonium at its Arak reactor. Were discussing how Iran can convert that Arak reactor to serve a different purpose, the official said.-- Iran should not use its Fordo nuclear plant to enrich uranium.-- That would leave only Irans Nantanz plant capable of enriching uranium, which at high grades can be used in nuclear weapons.-- Any deal must ensure that it would take Iran a year to gather enough fissile material to make a bomb.-- Iran would reduce significantly its current number of operating centrifuges and its domestic stockpile.-- Iran must agree to unprecedented inspections of both nuclear and production facilities as well as uranium mines and mills, and suspect sites.-- The US is pursuing a deal in which relief from international sanctions demanded by Iran is phased in over a period of time.We are insisting on the principle that sanctions can snap back into place if Iran were to violate the agreement, the US official said.

Car bomb kills 11 outside Damascus: monitor

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BEIRUT (AFP) - Eleven people were killed on Friday in a car bomb blast in a rebel-held area outside the Syrian capital, while seven people died in regime air raids, a monitor said.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the toll from the bomb blast, which occurred near a mosque in the town of Dmeir, was expected to rise because of the number of people seriously wounded.The Britain-based monitor said a woman and a child were among those killed in the government air strikes on the Marj region elsewhere in Eastern Ghouta, a key rebel bastion outside Damascus.Regime forces have besieged Eastern Ghouta for more than 18 months, carrying out daily bombardment in a bid to dislodge rebels.More than 210,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011.

Flooding in Madagascar capital kills at least 14: rescuers

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ANTANANARIVO (AFP) - At least 14 people died in flooding Friday in the Madagascan capital Antananarivo after a night of torrential rain caused dams to burst, rescue services said.About 24,000 people were driven from their homes in the floods and several neighbourhoods in the Indian Ocean island nation were being evacuated, the countrys emergency management bureau said.Due to the emergency, we call on all schools, churches, town halls, covered gymnasiums and those of goodwill to facilitate the sheltering of victims, a statement from the bureau said.Prime Minister Jean Ravelonarivo visited the affected areas early Friday. Three rivers flow in the area of the capital. A number of dams gave way under the weight of the floodwaters, sweeping away around 50 houses, the statement said. Electricity was also cut to parts of the capital.In the flood-stricken Valava district of the capital, Jean Christophe Rasolomaminirina, stands on the banks of a river watching boats and canoes evacuating residents.He said water levels started rising around mid-morning on Thursday and within five hours roads were submerged.There is no one left in Valava, he said. Meteorologists are forecasting more heavy rains Friday night.Poverty-stricken Madagascar which emerged a year ago from a lengthy political crisis sparked by a 2009 coup, is prone to cyclones.Last month, 68 people were killed when a tropical storm battered three-quarters of the island, dumping heavy rains and prompted major flooding in low-lying areas.The capital Antananarivo was originally built on hills, but with the citys population expanding, low lying areas are being turned into residential slums.

Unmasking of 'Jihadi John' as a London lad shocks Britain

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LONDON (AP) - The unmasking of Islamic State militant Jihadi John as a Londoner who had repeatedly been questioned by security services sent shock waves through Britain Friday, with Prime Minister David Cameron stepping in to defend British spy craft.Cameron tried to defuse criticism of Britains intelligence community, which had Jihadi John on its list of potential terror suspects for years but was unable to prevent him from traveling to Syria, where he has played a prominent role in grisly beheading videos.Cameron did not mention Jihadi John or refer to his real identity: Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwait-born computer science graduate raised and educated in Britain. But he said the countrys spies make incredibly difficult judgments daily about how to pursue threats to national security and have broken up plots that would have caused immense damage.Emwazi had been known to the British intelligence services since at least 2009, initially in connection with investigations into terrorism in Somalia.David Anderson, who is in charge of reviewing Britains terrorism legislation, said intelligence agencies may have dropped the ball, but faced a big challenge to identify real threats from hundreds, probably thousands of suspects.Perhaps they did slip up in this case but one wont know until theres been an inquiry or a report of some kind, he told the BBC.The case has some parallels to that of two al-Qaida-inspired extremists who murdered a British soldier in a London street in May 2013. A report by lawmakers concluded that delays and other failings by the agencies had contributed to that tragedy.However, it is not clear what laws could have been used to prevent Emwazi from leaving Britain at the time, since he had not been charged with any terrorist-related offenses. It is not known if police or security services had any evidence he was planning to join extremists in Syria.His identification as the front man in IS murder videos has raised questions about how a soccer-playing London youngster who liked smart clothes became one of the worlds most wanted men.Authorities were working to piece together the path to radicalization of Emwazi, who came to Britain from Kuwait as a small child and attended state schools in London before studying computer science at the University of Westminster.Court documents from 2011 obtained by the BBC list Emwazi as part of a network of west London men suspected by MI5 of sending funds, equipment and recruits to al-Shabab militants in Somalia. The group included Bilail al-Berjawi, a Lebanese-British militant who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Somalia in January 2012.Emails that Emwazi sent to a Muslim advocacy group reveal a young man increasingly frustrated by the attentions of British spies and angry at the plight of Muslims around the world.Emwazi approached the group, CAGE, after he and two friends were arrested and deported on a trip to Tanzania in August 2009. They said they were going on a post-university safari. But Emwazi said he was grilled by a British intelligence officer who accused him of trying to travel to Somalia to link up with terrorists there.He said the agent, who identified himself as Nick, suggested Emwazi work for us before saying life will be harder for you if he did not cooperate.It is clear that Emwazi was unnerved after his unwanted interrogation.He knew everything about me; where I lived, what I did, the people I hanged around with, he wrote in one of the emails that CAGE made public Thursday. He even said that he would try to visit me. But I refused and told him that I did not want him to pay me a visit.The following year Emwazi accused British agents of preventing him from going to Kuwait, where he had a job and planned to marry. He wrote in one email that his life is kind of on a pause.Like many British Muslims who have become radicalized in recent years, he seemed to feel that Muslims were increasingly under attack in many parts of the world and complained to CAGE of the plight of his fellow believers in Chechnya, Iraq and elsewhere.CAGE said that Emwazi even changed his name in a bid to escape the attentions of the security services, but still was barred from going to Kuwait. His family reported him missing early in 2013. Four months later, police told them Emwazi was in Syria, CAGE said.He appeared in a video released in August showing the slaying of American journalist James Foley, denouncing the West before the killing. A man with similar stature and voice was also featured in videos of the IS killings of American journalist Steven Sotloff, Britons David Haines and Alan Hemming, and U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.Foleys parents in Arizona on Thursday expressed surprise that Jihadi John was an educated man who had real prospects in life.So he, in a sense, had a privileged upbringing, so to me that makes that even more sad that hed want to use his gifts for such evil and such hatred. Its very frightening to me, Diane Foley said.We need to forgive him for not having a clue what he was doing, she said.The widow of Haines, a British aid worker, said Friday she would like to see Jihadi John captured and put on trial.Dragana Haines told The Associated Press in a phone interview from her home in Croatia that I really hope he will be caught, I think it would be a good lesson for all.Haines, whose husband was killed in September, said she would rather see Emwazi judged in a court of law than killed by enemy action.People of his kind believe that death in combat is an honor, something special, she said.In the modest west London neighborhood where Emwazis family lived, citizens were shocked after his identify was revealed.Sharaft Ullah, who worships at the Harrow Road Mosque near the family home, remembered Emwazi as a strict Muslim who prayed several times a day. He said Emwazi was a very good local guy and polite with everybody.I feel angry because he was educated in this country and he graduated from Westminster, Ullah said. If he has been doing these things its wrong.Another mosque that Emwazi was reported to have attended, the Greenwich Islamic Centre, said it had no knowledge of him.

Unmasking of 'Jihadi John' as a London lad shocks Britain

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LONDON (AP) - The unmasking of Islamic State militant Jihadi John as a Londoner who had repeatedly been questioned by security services sent shock waves through Britain Friday, with Prime Minister David Cameron stepping in to defend British spy craft.Cameron tried to defuse criticism of Britains intelligence community, which had Jihadi John on its list of potential terror suspects for years but was unable to prevent him from traveling to Syria, where he has played a prominent role in grisly beheading videos.Cameron did not mention Jihadi John or refer to his real identity: Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwait-born computer science graduate raised and educated in Britain. But he said the countrys spies make incredibly difficult judgments daily about how to pursue threats to national security and have broken up plots that would have caused immense damage.Emwazi had been known to the British intelligence services since at least 2009, initially in connection with investigations into terrorism in Somalia.David Anderson, who is in charge of reviewing Britains terrorism legislation, said intelligence agencies may have dropped the ball, but faced a big challenge to identify real threats from hundreds, probably thousands of suspects.Perhaps they did slip up in this case but one wont know until theres been an inquiry or a report of some kind, he told the BBC.The case has some parallels to that of two al-Qaida-inspired extremists who murdered a British soldier in a London street in May 2013. A report by lawmakers concluded that delays and other failings by the agencies had contributed to that tragedy.However, it is not clear what laws could have been used to prevent Emwazi from leaving Britain at the time, since he had not been charged with any terrorist-related offenses. It is not known if police or security services had any evidence he was planning to join extremists in Syria.His identification as the front man in IS murder videos has raised questions about how a soccer-playing London youngster who liked smart clothes became one of the worlds most wanted men.Authorities were working to piece together the path to radicalization of Emwazi, who came to Britain from Kuwait as a small child and attended state schools in London before studying computer science at the University of Westminster.Court documents from 2011 obtained by the BBC list Emwazi as part of a network of west London men suspected by MI5 of sending funds, equipment and recruits to al-Shabab militants in Somalia. The group included Bilail al-Berjawi, a Lebanese-British militant who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Somalia in January 2012.Emails that Emwazi sent to a Muslim advocacy group reveal a young man increasingly frustrated by the attentions of British spies and angry at the plight of Muslims around the world.Emwazi approached the group, CAGE, after he and two friends were arrested and deported on a trip to Tanzania in August 2009. They said they were going on a post-university safari. But Emwazi said he was grilled by a British intelligence officer who accused him of trying to travel to Somalia to link up with terrorists there.He said the agent, who identified himself as Nick, suggested Emwazi work for us before saying life will be harder for you if he did not cooperate.It is clear that Emwazi was unnerved after his unwanted interrogation.He knew everything about me; where I lived, what I did, the people I hanged around with, he wrote in one of the emails that CAGE made public Thursday. He even said that he would try to visit me. But I refused and told him that I did not want him to pay me a visit.The following year Emwazi accused British agents of preventing him from going to Kuwait, where he had a job and planned to marry. He wrote in one email that his life is kind of on a pause.Like many British Muslims who have become radicalized in recent years, he seemed to feel that Muslims were increasingly under attack in many parts of the world and complained to CAGE of the plight of his fellow believers in Chechnya, Iraq and elsewhere.CAGE said that Emwazi even changed his name in a bid to escape the attentions of the security services, but still was barred from going to Kuwait. His family reported him missing early in 2013. Four months later, police told them Emwazi was in Syria, CAGE said.He appeared in a video released in August showing the slaying of American journalist James Foley, denouncing the West before the killing. A man with similar stature and voice was also featured in videos of the IS killings of American journalist Steven Sotloff, Britons David Haines and Alan Hemming, and U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.Foleys parents in Arizona on Thursday expressed surprise that Jihadi John was an educated man who had real prospects in life.So he, in a sense, had a privileged upbringing, so to me that makes that even more sad that hed want to use his gifts for such evil and such hatred. Its very frightening to me, Diane Foley said.We need to forgive him for not having a clue what he was doing, she said.The widow of Haines, a British aid worker, said Friday she would like to see Jihadi John captured and put on trial.Dragana Haines told The Associated Press in a phone interview from her home in Croatia that I really hope he will be caught, I think it would be a good lesson for all.Haines, whose husband was killed in September, said she would rather see Emwazi judged in a court of law than killed by enemy action.People of his kind believe that death in combat is an honor, something special, she said.In the modest west London neighborhood where Emwazis family lived, citizens were shocked after his identify was revealed.Sharaft Ullah, who worships at the Harrow Road Mosque near the family home, remembered Emwazi as a strict Muslim who prayed several times a day. He said Emwazi was a very good local guy and polite with everybody.I feel angry because he was educated in this country and he graduated from Westminster, Ullah said. If he has been doing these things its wrong.Another mosque that Emwazi was reported to have attended, the Greenwich Islamic Centre, said it had no knowledge of him.

Australia bat against New Zealand in World Cup

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AUCKLAND (AFP) - Australia captain Michael Clarke won the toss and decided to bat in the World Cup Pool A game against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday.New Zealand, who have won all their three games, kept the same side which has featured from the start of the tournament.Australia, whose second game against Bangladesh was washed out in Brisbane last weekend, brought in fit-again skipper Michael Clarke for George Bailey and fast bowler Pat Cummins for Josh Hazlewood from the line-up which beatEngland in the opening game two weeks ago.Teams:New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Luke Ronchi (wkt), Ross Taylor.Australia: Michael Clarke (captain), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin (wkt), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins.Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Richard Illingworth (ENG).Tv umpire: Sundaram Ravi (IND).Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG).

Spacewalk to go ahead on Sunday despite helmet leak: NASA

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MIAMI (AFP) - Two US astronauts will go ahead with a spacewalk this weekend despite a flaw in one of the spacesuits that allowed water to seep into the helmet, the US space agency NASA said Friday.Mission managers made the decision after discussing what NASA called the minor seepage of water into the helmet of Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA following the last spacewalk on February 25.Virts had finished his six-plus hour spacewalk and was back inside the crew lock section of the Quest airlock when he noticed water building up in his helmet and felt dampness on the back of his head.Spacewalk specialists reported that Virts suit -- serial number 3005 -- has a history of what is called sublimator water carryover, a small amount of residual water in the sublimator cooling component that can condense once the environment around the suit is repressurized following its exposure to vacuum during a spacewalk, resulting in a tiny amount of water pushing into the helmet, NASA said in a statement.A high degree of confidence was expressed that the suits systems are all in good shape and approval was given to proceed with the third spacewalk in this series.On Sunday, Virts and his colleague Barry Wilmore will finish routing cable outside the International Space Station and install communications antennas that will provide navigational data to visiting spacecraft.The work aims to help set up new docking ports for commercial spaceship carrying astronauts in the coming years.The spacewalk, which begins at 7:10 am (1210 GMT), will be the 187th in support of station assembly and maintenance.

Oil rebounds in volatile trade

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices rebounded Friday at the end of a volatile week of trading as dealers weighed the global supply glut and slow growth in the world economy.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April advanced $1.59 to close at $49.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a day after WTI lost almost $3.In London, Brent North Sea crude for April delivery, the global benchmark, surged to $62.58 a barrel, up a hefty $2.53 from Thursdays closing level.WTI, after having fallen in early 2015 to a six-year low, has swung wildly in February, but finally finished the month a little more than $1.5 higher. By contrast, Brent has gained about $12.Crude oil has lost about 50 percent of its value since June.Weve kind of reached the bottom and the prices are just dancing around, said Michael Lynch of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, referring to the New York oil market.In Fridays trading session, Lynch said, the biggest impact was from the decline in US rig operating data, which suggests well see lower shale production than anticipated, and comments out of Saudi Arabia that the market may be coming back into balance.Lynch noted that the Baker Hughes US crude oil drilling rig count fell by 33 rigs this week, which marked a slower decline than recently seen, which has been about 90 rigs per week.The Department of Energys oil inventories report this week showed a jump of more than eight million barrels of crude oil to a record 434.1 million barrels.Its choppy all around the place, said Bart Melek of TD Securities. Essentially were responding to the view the supplies are going to drop off.

Dollar scores eighth straight month of gains

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar edged higher against the euro Friday, building on the prior days sharp rally and closing February with its eighth consecutive month of gains.The greenback found support from the latest government estimate of economic growth in the fourth quarter. Though revised lower, to 2.2 percent from 2.6 percent, the pace was better than expected.There was more good news than bad in the second estimate of fourth-quarter US GDP, said Moodys Analytics. The composition was better and sets up well for the first three months of this year.The euro had support as inflation data improved slightly in key eurozone economies, said Eric Viloria, currency strategist at Wells Fargo Securities, easing deflation fears somewhat.Inflation in Germany rose 0.1 percent after dropping 0.4 percent in January.In addition, German lawmakers approved a four-month bailout extension for Greece, clearing a key hurdle to keeping the new government in Athens financed and avoid a default.The market was looking ahead to Thursdays European Central Bank monetary policy. ECB President Mario Draghi is expected to provide details about the unprecedented large-scale asset-purchase program, or quantitative easing, announced last month. Some of the details that we expect Mario Draghi to provide include the exact date of when asset purchases will begin, how long they will last, the breadth of bonds purchased and whether national central banks can buy other countrys bonds or only their own, said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.One of the main reasons why investors sold euros aggressively in the month of January was because of the fear that Greece could leave the eurozone. This week that fear and concern was eliminated (for the time being), she said in a research note.It may be time to consider buying euros. The single currency fell to a one-month low versus the US dollar this past week despite stronger eurozone and weaker US data.

Pakistan look to rescue World Cup campaign

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BRISBANE (AFP) - Pakistans calamity-hit World Cup campaign stops off at Brisbane on Sunday where they will look to get their first points on the board and so keep their quarter-final hopes alive against a bruised and battered Zimbabwe.On the field, 1992 champions Pakistan have been mauled by 76 runs by bitter rivals India and suffered a 150-run rout at the hands of the West Indies.Off it, the squad have been in turmoil with eight players fined for breaking a curfew, reports of a bust-up in training and chief selector Moin Khan being sent home in disgrace for visiting a casino.Zimbabwe, meanwhile, go into the game on the back of a four-wicket win over the UAE, a 62-run loss to South Africa and a 73-run defeat by the West Indies in a game where Chris Gayle made the first double century in World Cup history.The African side have found it hard to restrict opposition batsmen -- West Indies feasted on their bowlers to the tune of 372 for two while South Africa helped themselves to 339 for four.Pakistan havent played since February 21 but despite the break, giving them plenty of time to chew over over their problems, they will be buoyed by knowing they traditionally hold the upper hand against Zimbabwe.They have won 27 of their 30 ODI meetings, taking their most recent series 2-1 in Harare in 2013, although they did lose the opener by seven wickets with Hamilton Masakadza (85 in that game), Brendan Taylor (43) and Sean Williams (39) all likely to play at the Gabba on Sunday.Zimbabwes only other two wins came way back in 1995 in Harare and 1999 in Sheikhupura.Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who enjoyed innings of 83 and 67 in the 2013 series in Zimbabwe, said it was crucial to get the defeat against the West Indies out of their system and concentrate on rebooting their faltering World Cup campaign.We must forget it and learn from it. We just need to improve our performances, said the veteran.If you got tapped in the previous two games, then you cant perform. Every game is a new game, and now we have to leave it behind and prepare for the next one and try to win all other games. That is the only way.Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad has been cleared to play in the game despite suffering an ankle injury, an official said Friday.The 23-year-old right-hander was sent for an MRI scan after team practice in Brisbane, complaining of pain in his left ankle but has been judged fit to play.Shehzad scored 47 in the opening defeat by India but managed just one in Pakistans thrashing at the hands of the West Indies in Christchurch.Zimbabwe have two points from three Pool B games with skipper Elton Chigumbura demanding his bowlers match the promising form of the teams batsmen.We feel like were going towards the right directions, and with (coach) Dav Whatmore, since he took over, up to now weve been playing positive cricket, said Chigumbura.Our batting used to let us down, but at the moment its the one that is actually being consistent more than the bowling. We just need to polish up on our bowling and fielding.

England out to silence critics against Sri Lanka

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WELLINGTON (AFP) - England are determined to restore their World Cup credibility in a crunch Pool A match Sunday against an improving Sri Lanka.Eoin Morgans men return to Wellingtons Westpac stadium for the fixture, scene of a humiliating eight-wicket loss to New Zealand on February 20.That defeat, a day-nighter in which England folded so quickly that ground staff did not need to turn on the floodlights, followed a 111-run drubbing by Australia in their opening match.A subsequent win over minnows Scotland was greeted with relief rather than jubilation, and opening batsman Moeen Ali said England needed to make a statement against Sri Lanka.Ali said victory against the 1996 champions would restore the battered self-belief of the team, which has been flayed in the British media.(Its) a very important game, if we can win that it will give the team a lot more confidence of being a very good one-day side and a major side in the competition. he said.Sri Lanka made a shaky start to their own campaign, suffering a 98-run loss to New Zealand and a real scare against Afghanistan.But they clicked in a 92-run win over Bangladesh last Thursday which included centuries for Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara.Sri Lanka defeated England 5-2 on home soil late last year in a series that prompted Morgans predecessor Alastair Cook to be axed as one-day captain.But paceman Steve Finn said England would not be dwelling on that series as conditions in Wellington would be completely different.We got beat by Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka so its important we go out there and try to stamp our authority in conditions that should favour us, he said.Finn said Englands poor start meant they were treating all their remaining pool fixtures -- against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan -- as must wins.Its very important for us and these three games are almost each like a quarter-final, but we thrive on that sort of pressure and hopefully it will bring the best out of us.After three matches, England are placed beneath Bangladesh and Afghanistan on the Pool A table.A loss to Sri Lanka would leave them facing an early exit if the group throws up any upset results.Sundays match will be Sri Lankas third in eight days, having played Afghanistan last Sunday and Bangladesh on Thursday.Former Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan said the schedule was not ideal preparation for a dangerous encounter against an England side keen to prove a point.But he said Sri Lankas batting looked ominous against Bangladesh and sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga finally appeared to be finding form.He looked much more like his old self, his bowling had some of that old zip about it and that is a great sign for a team that really needs him to fire, he said.

New Zealand, Australia clash as India target Perth stroll

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand and Australia meet in a heavyweight World Cup clash Saturday in Auckland while, 5,500km away in Perth, defending champions India face the amateurs of the UAE.In front of 40,000 people at Eden Park, New Zealand can virtually make sure of a quarter-final place with a fourth win in four games.But four-time champions Australia, who beat England in their opener two weeks ago before seeing the clash with Bangladesh rained off in Brisbane, can take heart from a solid record in the New Zealand city.They have 11 wins out of 16 at Eden Park, including four of the last five.The Australians will also be buoyed by the return of skipper Michael Clarke who missed the first game as a consequence of his long-standing hamstring problems which have sidelined him since December.Clarke will replace stand-in skipper George Bailey for Saturdays game in one of two changes which will also see Pat Cummins dislodge fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood.The build-up has been dominated by suggestions that the meeting will be over-shadowed by a verbal contest while the peculiar dimensions of Eden Park, with his its short boundaries, are expected to encourage a run glut.Im not a big believer in it (sledging), said Clarke who was widely criticised for his threat to Englands James Anderson to get ready for a broken arm in the last Ashes series.It comes down to the individual player. If it helps them, then go for it.In captain Brendon McCullum, New Zealand have an explosive batsman at the top of the order who can change the game as he proved during his whirlwind 25-ball 77 against England in Wellington.He does hit them a long way, doesnt he? said Australia coach Darren Lehmann said. He plays a high-risk game, but theres a bit of a difference between 135km/h and 150km/h coming at him.New Zealand will be unchanged after Tim Southee, who recorded his countrys best-ever ODI figures of 7-33 against England, recovered from a minor shoulder injury.New Zealand coach Mike Hesson tried to downplay the importance of Saturdays match by saying: Its just another one of the round robin games and obviously its going to be a good one.At the WACA in Perth, two worlds collide when mighty India tackle the United Arab Emirates team of shipping clerks and airline staff, with at least two of the Gulf amateurs relishing the showdown.All-rounder Krishna Chandran and wicket-keeper Swapnil Patil were both born in India.But frustrated by the pedestrian pace of their playing careers in the countrys over-crowded talent market, they decamped to the UAE to pursue jobs and cricket.Chandran hails from Kerala and once featured for a Bangalore college club alongside Stuart Binny, who is a member of the India squad at the World Cup.Its going to be a big moment for people back home, 30-year-old Chandran, who moved to the Gulf in 2010, told wisdenindia.com.For people who saw me playing in my shorts, with a tennis ball, on the streets of my home village of Kollengode, its going to be a big thing to watch me on TV, playing against India, in a World Cup match, at a ground like the WACA.Patil is another Indian expat and is looking forward to meeting up with star batsman Ajinkya Rahane after the pair played in a variety of youth teams in Mumbai before the keeper moved to Dubai.India have been in rampant form so far, beating Pakistan by 76 runs and then trouncing South Africa by 130 runs in games where they racked up two 300-plus totals.The UAE have lost both their games, to Zimbabwe and Ireland, but only by four and two wickets.Indias in-form seamer Mohammad Shami, who took four for 35 against Pakistan and two for 30 against South Africa, will miss the game with a knee injury.

Struggling Watson plays on despite friend's death

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AUCKLAND (AFP) - Struggling Australian all-rounder Shane Watson goes into Saturdays World Cup clash against New Zealand mourning the death of one of his closest friends who lost his battle with cancer this week.Paul Hutchison, a former fast bowler for South Australia and Tasmania, died from cancer in Brisbane on Friday, aged just 47, the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported.Watson and Hutchison played junior cricket for Brisbane club Redlands and while he was in the city last week for the washed-out World Cup game against Bangladesh, 33-year-old Watson made several visits to Hutchisons bedside.That included one in the hours after the game was cancelled.Watson was left upset by Hutchisons physical condition and told teammates how life had really been put in perspective, reported the Telegraph.Watson was our for nought in the win over England on February 14, but he is expected to keep his place in the team for Saturdays game at Eden Park with skipper Michael Clarke backing the veteran to return to form.I think Watto has certainly acknowledged that he would like to make runs as much as anybody. I wouldnt be surprised if you see him walk out there and make an important hundred for us, said Clarke.
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